Music interventions for dental anxiety

Abstract

Anxiety is a significant issue in the dental care of adults and children. Dental anxiety often leads to avoidance of dental care which may result in significant deterioration of oral and dental health. Non‐pharmacological anxiety management interventions such as music listening are increasingly used in dental care. Although efficacy for music's anxiolytic effects has been established for pre‐operative anxiety, findings regarding the use of music listening for dental anxiety are inconclusive, especially for children. The use of music for passive distraction may not be adequate for children and highly anxious adults. Instead, interventions offered by a trained music therapist may be needed to optimize music's anxiolytic impact. Music therapy interventions are individualized to the patient's presenting needs and geared at enhancing patients’ active engagement in the management of their anxiety. Interventions may include (i) active refocusing of attention, (ii) music‐guided deep breathing, (iii) music‐assisted relaxation, and (iv) music‐guided imagery. In addition, music therapists can teach patients music‐based anxiety management skills prior to dental treatments, offer them the opportunity to express emotions related to the upcoming procedure, and help them gain a sense of control and safety. Clinical guidelines for the use of music listening by dental practitioners are offered.

Does audiovisual distraction reduce dental anxiety in children under local anesthesia? A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Audiovisual distraction is a non-aversive approach that diverts children's attention away from what may be perceived as an unpleasant procedure to accomplish successful, high-quality treatment (Al-Khotani, Bello, & Christidis, 2016). Television sets, computer games, and 3D video glasses for watching movies are available for both visual distraction and auditory distraction (Attar & Baghdadi, 2014;Bradt & Teague, 2018). In addition, audiovisual distraction is simple and easily managed (Mitrakul, Asvanund, Arunakul, & Paka-akekaphat, 2015) and might exert a beneficial effect on anxiety in children (Agarwal, 2017;Al-Khotani et al, 2016;Bagattoni, D'Alessandro, Sadotti, Alkhamis, & Piana, 2017;El-Sharkawi, El-Housseiny, & Aly, 2012;Guinot Jimeno et al, 2014;Kaur et al, 2015;Mitrakul et al, 2015;Nuvvula, Alahari, Kamatham, & Challa, 2015;Prabhakar, Marwah, & Raju, 2007).…”

Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Reducing Anxiety in Patients with Potentially Malignant Oral Disorders

“…In this regard, being able to choose the music may give the patient a certain sense of control of the situation, and this is important for dealing with pain and anxiety. Self-selection of music may also result in a less threatening environment, with increased patient comfort and calmness, both while waiting and during actual dental treatment [4][5][6][7].…”

“…A number of individual factors influence patient response to music, including age, gender, cognitive function, the intensity of anxiety, familiarity with and preferences for music, cultural aspects, and personal associations with music [4,6,20]. Because of these individual factors, it is clear that a concrete type of music cannot be universally prescribed for the reduction of stress [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13].…”

“…A number of options are available for the management of anxiety, including explanation of the treatment process to the patient, medications strategies, biofeedback, hypnosis, and behavioral interventions [4][5][6]. The administration of sedatives and other drugs to lessen patient anxiety before surgery is a common practice, though they often have negative side effects and can prolong patient recovery [6][7][8].…”

Effect of Virtual Reality During Periodontal Treatment of Patients with Anxiety

“…Control of anxiety in dentistry is one of the most important issues that dentists face in the clinic on a daily basis. (1,2) Patient anxiety is one of the factors that affect the dentist's ease of work as well as the patient's peace of mind and his/her understanding of pain. Different methods have been used to reduce patient anxiety during treatment.…”